According to the Tourism Board, the indicators are very positive in relation to the upcoming tourist season, especially when looking at the hotels’ preliminary spread sheets.

Desiderio Silva – the head of the regional Tourism Board – mentioned that there are units that are expecting their occupation rates until September or October to be much higher than what they initially predicted.

Speaking at the presentation of the Algarve Tourism Memorandum – a document lsiting various proposals as to how tourism can be improved within the region of the Algarve, Mr. Silva mentioned that this year both the French and the German markets have picked up after dropping in the number of tourists coming to Algarve in the past few years.

According to his estimations, the Algarve will most likely see more visitors from neighboring Spain as well, because due to the economic hardships they’ll opt for closer holiday destinations, and there are none closer than Portugal of course.

It is expected that more residents from Galicia and the Spanish Estremadura would more likely visit the Algave than those from actually neighboring Andalucia because they won’t have to pay any tolls on the motorways as opposed to the tolls required to get on the A22/Via do Infante.

The Algarve Tourist Memorandum features proposals based around the five pillars of air accessibility, touristic promotion, tax competitiveness, tourist products and the modernization of the destination as a whole.

We’ll just have to wait and see if these predictions actually come to fruition.

The Algarve is amongst those holiday destinations that is popular not only during the summer but also during the winter, and that is due to quite a few reasons, one of them being the fact that it is located firmly on the European continent – which makes it relatively easier to visit from within the continent, and the fact that it features a lot of golf courses – but more on that later.

The reason for the region’s popularity during the winter and autumn is mainly due to the fact that even during these seasons the temperatures during the day will rarely go below fifteen Centigrade, but on average it’s usually above that. Considering how in most of the rest of Europe at the same time temperatures during the day are below zero, one can understand the appeal just from that stand-point alone.

While the Atlantic can be a bit on the chilly side of things – although there are always some thrill-seekers who enjoy the colder waters – one can still get quite a few solid hours of sunlight during any given day which will allow for some beach-side lazing.

Going back to the golf for a bit, the Algarve is a well-known destination for golf enthusiasts, it has somewhere in the region of thirty great golf courses which span the entire range of experience. Golfers love engaging in their favorite pass-time at any time of year that’s true, but when they can do it in great circumstances during the winter, well that’s just an extra incentive to visit the region.

Keep our Algarve car rental services in mind when visiting the Algarve during autumn and winter breaks.

Or at least that’s what a recent ‘tourist satisfaction study’ released by Turismo de Portugal says. The overall level of tourist satisfaction is very high, stating that 34% of respondents enjoyed a holiday that was above their expectations, and a solid 85% percent of those asked said that they would certainly or probably return to Portugal within the next three years.

The Brazilians are the happiest of nationalities who visited the Algarve, however it is the Brits who are most likely to return, but this can be due to the fact that the United Kingdom is closer to Portugal.

When it comes to the reasons why tourists like it here, eighty-four percent answered with ‘nature and culture’, and that the landscapes and beaches are top notch, which is rather true it has to be said, with hospitality coming in second thanks to the ‘pleasant nature of the local population’.

The other tourism-related areas, which include activities, infrastructure and tourist information, rate somewhere about fifty percent, however the study does highlight that ‘tourist information’ and ‘rent-a-car’ companies were actually ‘below expectations’. This view of the Algarve car rental companies might be in part due to the introduction of the A22 toll taxes and such, since those have created quite a bit of issues when it comes to contracts.

The Algarve received forty-six percent of total region tourists, while Lisbon forty-two percent, so the capital is a major pull still, and for good reason.

When it comes to planning their break, forty percent of visitors found the Internet to be the main research tool, followed by recommendation of acquaintances, friends and relatives with thirty-one percent.

The study involved asking more than eight hundred individuals at national airports with tourists from Spain, UK, Germany, France, Holland, Ireland and Brazil.

The city of Lagos, Portugal has had a very long and chequered history. Thanks to its large natural harbour the area has been settled and inhabited for many thousands of years, starting with the Phoenicians, then the Carthaginians, then of course the Romans and following them the Moors. Due to its important geographical location and harbour it acted as the capital of the Algarve region for about two hundred years between the 16th and the 18th century until it was severely damaged during the 1755 earthquake which caused the government to move its seat to nearby Faro.

Present day Lagos

With the many and wonderful things that it has to offer

Lagos

Nowadays, Lagos is one of the Algarve’s most popular holiday destinations for travelers, attracting the younger crowd especially, whether they’re students, professionals and backpackers. They all come here for the stunning beaches, the picturesque coves and the great all-around weather.

In fact the spectacular weather is one of Lagos’ main features, the region sees low precipitation and warm temperatures all throughout the year, with hot and sunny summers, but not too hot thanks to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, and with mild winters with very moderate rainfall.

Regardless of the time of year that you choose to visit Lagos in, and the fact that it is a rather small city, you will find quite a few things to see and do while on your stay there.

Starting with probably the city’s main attraction, its beaches, you can find plenty of beaches which vary in size and shape, from long and sandy beaches to small beaches hidden behind cliffs. The Praia da Batata for instance is an great beach and it is located right across the main road in Lagos. This beach is overlooked by a great cliff which features a cove which is accessible only by boat and a very narrow and hidden mud slope which is marked with a rope pegged at its top. Now keep in mind that while this is truly beautiful scenery, it can be rather dangerous so pay close attention to your footing. Lagos is also home to one of the best known beaches in the entire region, the Meia Praia which is a huge beach that you can find on the other side of the Marina, featuring a plethora of bars and other like-minded establishments.

As far as the city itself is concerned, walking around it will offer the visitor a particular type of experience as most of the city center is populated with traditional architecture and painted using regional colors. The harbour is very animated in the morning so if you happen to wake up early yhou shouldn’t miss it or the fish market either, truly interesting spot.

Lagos - Bone Chapel

Lagos is also home to a Bone Chapel, an interesting particularity of the region, a couple more of these being present in Faro and Alcantarilha. The Lagos Capela dos Ossos is part of the Igreja do Sao Sebastiano and while rather small, compared to the others in the region, when you visit it you can also visit the bell tower of the church and the view from there is definitely worth the admission price.

This has been just a quick look travel guide at what Lagos, Portugal has to offer, rest assured that there are many other things that you can do while on your trip there, you’ll surely not get bored.

Lagos Related Link List

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